aesthetic contemplation,
anconcerns thoughts related to the appreciation of,
or a heightened senstivity to, beauty. The American Heritage®
Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition.

"Ain't we got fun,"
is the title of a popular song of 1921.
Words by Gus Kahn & Raymond B. Egan. Music by Richard
Whiting.

Chorus:
Ev-'ry morn-ing Ev-'ry eve-ning Ain't we got fun,
Not much mon-ey, Oh but hon-ey, Ain't We Got Fun
The rent's un-paid dear, We have-nt a bus,
But smiles were made dear, for peo-ple like us
In the win-ter, in the sum-mer, Don't we have fun,
Times are bum and get-ting bum-mer, Still we have fun
There's nothing sur-er, The rich get rich and the poor get child-ren
In the mean-time, In be-tween time, Ain't we got fun.

Barbary Coastis literally the Mediterranean coast of north Africa,
but - as Bruccoli notes (213) - the novel probably refers to
the wild waterfront area of San Francisco that developed after
the 1849 gold rush.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_of_Buccleuch"The substantial origin
of the ducal house of the Scotts of Buccleuch dates back to the
large grants of lands in Scotland to Sir Walter Scott of Kirkurd
and Buccleuch, a border chief, by James II, in consequence of
the fall of the 8th earl of Douglas (1452); but the family traced
their descent back to a Sir Richard le Scott (1249-1285)."

Interesting to note, this reference links Nick to the family
name of Scott.

Canada, underground
pipe-line to
Prohibition of the manufacture and sale of alcohol in the United
States produced a number of fanciful notions about how alcohol
managed to enter the country under these restrictions.

Coney Island
"A resort district of Brooklyn, New York, on the Atlantic
Ocean, famous for its boardwalk and amusement park featuring
souvenir stands, thrilling rides, and numerous eating places."The
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third
Edition.